szuper_bojler

Thanks for the advice! Sounds like I'd be better off just buying a hexagonal silver tube and making one from scratch though Edit: *Octagonal

That looks like it'll take some serious engraving skill.

For the first one, I'm thinking that I can just melt the glue off with some solvent to separate the silver tubing out from the ebony core of a premade button, and take a jewelry saw to the silver tubing. Does anyone know what solvent can be used there, are these usually bonded with hide glue too?

Ah that makes sense, as long as it's smoothed out enough without sharp edges, it'd probably not cause any problems?

It would probably not be uncomfortable for the player at all, since no one really puts their pinky on the button of the bow. Do you mean it might be CNC'ed out of a sheet of silver, then soldered into a ring shape with an ebony core like you would for a conventional button?

Pardon the clickbait title. I've recently come across E Begin's really tastefully decorated violin bows, with one of the elements really catching my eyes being the bow buttons. I’d love to try replicating something in a similar spirit. For these buttons, would it be feasible to start with a premade solid silver button and then carve a pattern into it without damaging the ebony core? Or is it generally necessary to work from scratch using a silver sheet and an ebony core? If making it from scratch is the better approach, what thickness of silver would be appropriate—around 1 mm, perhaps? I’m looking for the least resistant (and least error-prone) way to approach this, and any advice would be greatly appreciated. I have some handcrafting skills, but am mostly just a slightly more experienced novice, so want something as simple as possible. Thanks!

The last instrument I've tried from him was a long pattern strad that had a golden sound to it with a lot of resonance and overtones, but just needed a bit more bass and depth of sound from it. So I'm leaning towards a more del Gesu or normal Strad model from him, in the hopes that it'll have a bit more depth while having that rich overtone I liked before.

Mainly classical --- concertos, sonatas etc. A mix of solo pieces plus chamber music.

Hey all, I’m about to commission my first violin from a maker whose work I’ve really liked in the past. He’s open to collaborating with me on all the details — from the wood to the model of violin — which is exciting. My original plan was just to request a one-piece back and leave the rest up to him, but since this is my first commission, I want to make sure I won’t be disappointed with the final result. One idea I’m considering is having him make a copy of an existing Stradivari or del Gesù, but I’m not sure which model to go for. So wanted to ask if any of you have come across particularly good-sounding violins that are also visually striking. Just hoping to gather some inspiration. Any experience and/or advice commissioning violins are also welcome! Thanks!

Do you mean like the wood for the head looks very dense and heavy, or the way it's carved makes it seem hefty?

So I recently bought a nice violin bow that is relatively thin towards the tip end of the stick. I bought it without really thinking too much about it, but looking back it is just ever so slightly on the thin side. Should I be concerned, or is this just more common than I thought?

How is this not robbery? Surely he at least give the frog back to you if it wasn't fitting well?

They are offering it for more than double the price you quoted there.... hmmm it is a nice bow though.

Hi all, I'm currently shopping for bows and have come across two bows that I like a lot: a Manoel Francisco bow and a splined Douglas Raguse bow. The Francisco bow handles a bit better than the Raguse, but the Raguse produces a slightly thicker and richer sound. I'm leaning ever so slightly toward the Raguse bow, though I'm a bit hesitant about buying a splined bow—I'm not sure what risks I might be taking there. They are both in the same price range. I'm also not very confident in my bow-discerning skills—I know the Raguse bow is considered a "finer" bow, so I feel that as my playing improves, I'll learn to appreciate the qualities of a finer bow that I can't quite discern at the moment, which is another reason I'm leaning toward it. Any help or advice is much appreciated!

I used to browse his videos pretty frequently a decade ago back in middle school before I came to the States for college.... I actually thought that that's how all Southern Americans acted for almost a decade.